Ratchet & Clank Series Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The Ratchet & Clank series celebrates it's 20th Anniversary!

There have been a lot of anniversaries as of late, with Mortal Kombat's 30th Anniversary last month and Warhammer 40,000: Vermintide's 7th Anniversary this month. 

You can add Ratchet & Clank to that list, as the Ratchet & Clank series is celebrating its 20th Anniversary today.

20 Years Of Ratchet & Clank

Developed by Insomniac Games and released on November 4, 2002, Ratchet & Clank stars Lombax mechanic Ratchet and his robot companion Clank. Well-received for its vibrant, futuristic worlds, quirky characters, voice-acting, and zany weapons, Ratchet & Clank has everything you could ask for in a platformer. As the developers of the acclaimed Spyro the Dragon series, Insomniac Games knew a thing or two about making platformers and had another hit on their hands. 

Insomniac Games released Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando the following year, which received immediate critical and commercial acclaim. It quickly solidified its status as one of the greatest PlayStation 2 games ever. Many gamers, myself included, consider it one of the greatest platformers of all time. It stood alongside franchises like God of War and Gran Turismo as some of PlayStation's best exclusives. 

Ratchet & Clank would enjoy healthy success on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable. Some of the series' more standout games post-Going Commando include Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (The PSP version. The PS2 port is a bit rubbish), and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

The tides would shift for the Ratchet & Clank series when the PlayStation 4 came out. The platformer genre saw a sharp decline in interest and releases. 

Ratchet & Clank received a PS4 remake of the original game in 2016. There was even a movie, though it was not well-received and arguably is the first big blemish on the franchise. With a resurgence in popularity of the platformer genre looking unlikely, it seemed like Ratchet & Clank would be permanently moving on into the pantheon of yesteryear gaming greats. 

And then, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart brought the series back to form. 

Released on June 11, 2021, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the first original game in the series since 2013's Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus and acts as a sequel to that game. 

Fast-forward one year, and we can celebrate 20 years of one of gaming's best platformers franchises. 

#Ratchet20 Celebration Livestream

Don't miss out! The #Ratchet20 Celebration Livestream begins today at 11:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM ET! We're playing classic Ratchet & Clank games alongside veteran Insomniacs and special guests all throughout the day!

Watch here: https://t.co/ly1NZuxYNe pic.twitter.com/r95aVu1oDu

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) November 4, 2022

Insomniac games celebrated the special occasion by hosting a marathon live stream on their Twitch channel. If you missed it, catch the VOD to see Insomniac's current generation of developers play through many Ratchet & Clank titles like Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and the original Ratchet & Clank. The live stream also featured notable figures from the franchise's history, like David Kaye, the voice actor of Clank, and Dave Guertin, Principal Concept Artist for the Ratchet & Clank series.

5 Ratchet & Clank Games Coming to PlayStation Plus Premium

You didn't think a live stream is all Insomniac Games had planned for Ratchet & Clank fans, did you?

Xbox Game Pass competitor, PlayStation Plus, has a lengthy catalog of past and current PlayStation titles for gamers to enjoy. PlayStation Plus Premium members will soon have five Ratchet & Clank titles to enjoy on their next-gen console. 

On November 15, Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked, and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be available to PlayStation Plus Premium members. 

They will join Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. No more digging up your old PS2 or PS3.

5 Free Armor Sets In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Owners of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will be getting a free 20th Anniversary Armor Pack update. The Armor Pack includes five armor sets, each inspired by different past Ratchet & Clank titles. 

• Commando Armor inspired by Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
• Holoflux Armor inspired by Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
• Quest Armor inspired by Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
• Marauder Armor inspired by Ratchet: Deadlocked
• Clank Armor because what's Ratchet & Clank without the Clank

Here's to 20 years of Ratchet & Clank!